Article transfer and conveyer mechanism



Zmventor attorney Dec. 14, 1954 v T. E. FINSTEAD ARTICLE TRANSFER ANDCONVEYER MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 4. 1949 THERON E.FIIVSTEAD T. E. FINSTEAD ARTICLE TRANSFER AND CONVEYER MECHANISM Dec.14, 1954 Filed Oct. 4. 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Bnnefxtor (Ittorueg THERDIVE. F/IISTEAD ARTICLE Tur Essen n ICONVEYER" CHANISM Theron E. Finstead,Sanl se, Cal f assign t Fo Machinery and Chemical; Crporation',.Sai1 JaCal f-r Th present. invention relate to an pparatus for n y ngarticleaandmore particularly to an apparatus for transferring conveyedarticles from the. belt of a main c n eyorto the belt f anauxillaryonveyorwln simultaneo sly; driving th .auzgllleryeonyeynr lbe Oneobjeetof the; present inventionis to provide a mechanism. fortransferring articles from ne conveyor belt-to another conveyor belt.

A h r O j ct is to a te lran aux liary onv yor to a main. onveyor at8JIY\-Q6SII@Q"PQ1DE throughou it lengthvfor transferring articles fromonepf aid co veyors to he other, and to drive. the auxili ry con eyobelt from the. main conveyor belt,

-Another object is to provide mean .derivingpowe from a main conveyorbel for imultaneously dlflvlig a pparatu for.- ransferring c nveyedarticles a an auxiliary conveyor. belt.

Anotherobjectis-to. provide means whereby a portion of an upper run ofa. main conveyor belt lS deflec d from its normalplan and support d inan inc ined plane ential. to. a roller of an arti le transfer metros-Another object is to offset a portion 9 f 21- main 1k y r eltin adirection owar which it Is d s re to transferan article on saidblt-andto de ect said belt beyond QfiSfluPQIflOIi by m ans: a apted to re an auxihary belt m un ed adieeent herelos; r

Further o je s an advan aaesof 115 in ention w l become apparent in thefollowing drawings fi d'dQ$llP' tions'in which: e

Figi is a side elevation c a con eying apps-rams embodying the invenion, a Portion of a m in c n yor being-broken away,-

Fig' 2 is an enlarg d ide ele atinn f a @3191? tr n fer. and auxiliary-cnveyor driving asrarr tus, a portion f th i ia y c nvey beingillustrated as s parat d from the transfer anddri-ving qapparatns,

Fig, 3 is a funtherenlarged, side-elevation o th rti l r n ferand-auxiliary conveyor. driving, aun ratns shown in Figs,- 1 and 2, a.portion of aside frame member .thereof being broken away to show beltand roller r n mentsrmorti ns of the main and auxilia yveyors alsobeingshown.

ig. '4 is a pl n viemsomewhat reduced, o the meeha nism shown in Big. 3.

In the drawings, an [article transfer device A and an auxiliary ConveyorB are adapted to the attach d to a power driven main conveyor C at anydesired point thereon without removing the main conveyor belt, butmerely by loosening the main conveyor belt and r ing it through thearticle transfer device and attaching the auxiliary conveyor thereto.The belt of the auxiliary conveyor is held in frictionaldriven-engagement with arolleronthe device A so as to transmit the powernecessary to adri-ve'the belt of the auxiliary conveyor land to transferarticles from one eonveynr to the other. The article transfer: device Ais so arranged that {the v'rnain eltwand auxili ry b lt aresubsta tiallylig ed @181 point of transfer between them, so that conveyed articlesare stated on their transitional movement between the belts withoutencountering any sharp offset between the belts. This practicallyeliminates the possibility of the articles jamming at the point oftransfer from one belt to the other.

As shown in Fig. 1, the main conveyor C, of a usual belt type, has ausual bed comprising side frame members 11 and 12 and supporting legs13. A series of freely rotatable belt supporting rollers 14 are mountedtranslrereb ttye a 2,696,900 Patented Dec. 14, 1954 2 ver ly betaeen hesidetrerne membe s. and, 1.2. tar

uppo ting end ess .1 19 conveyor be whi h pa s s around th usua t o.terminal. rol ers only ne o atson-sh wn. ."lhe n. e nyeynrtz ll l lriven by a usual head x cll r ins uita le meanst.

lhe ar icle transfer and aurflia ybdt st iving an:

paratus A. has airrs 20 which spans thebecl o e main. conveyor. Q- The.trans er trams 2t! commons two similar sideframe plate members 21 and 22secured to: settle by a tr nsve se angl iron nen erin we de Ea h of. aresi eplatenrenl ers 2 ans haste slopinglnpner ease VQUIQEIHX ll$PQQ$lupporting. legs. .5 are-welserl to. east n} t lwvn ars inv ne tron; eacend oteachol the tramet lrlepla enle n ersrll ant 2.2,;an areadantetl ul l sely t sst he ou er-s de oi the rnaintramesl le members a d areneeti elyt Ea ho th legs-Q91 s uterine-t with hol l? in the ticwnwadlyextenein seme th reof, heseheles hemaadapte to r gist r with at a tat ally nppnsltea tl similarly snar s! s lesrlll PTQ: ideo m raine-mainconveyor rle memb rs r .2. It l 1 e er,,i ..i.s d sire-v to use the t ain ac n eyor not pr vided with shel 1. set-of mou ting heles ma be du ledat ny d. 1r

ien along con eyor; havin a b d of the Proper. Width uptl l whi lltornoumtl e' train 2.9, The artic e ransier ev ce A is a mo nted-on mainany r C bytwo rod 28. and i se ted t as r e y throu h the registeringholes 27 in the legs @251 s 9195,? setof oles. v18 in the convey r si eframe members 1. an .2, Eaehnt theu eunt ng-rcrl 2.8 and haste e 30formed on a en hereof, a d is ecured in Pos tion y anut t hreaded pntothother .end-

T o. pairs or ongltuslin llynares-roller s p ort n notches 32 and-a3, cahes; of which late all bpp site ne ano her, are provided n. the-slo inupper ell es 10 the. ranster appa atussiden $2. all 2&- The xial s as-i4 and-1 of mama senue sr bel sup: portin r llers enoififiare mountedn. the not hes $2 ndfii resnety lyttn extend ts s ers l '9f he trans erpparatus A- pair oflatera' gun. r. .or y lineq sl tesihel s9 (F aser poyi lelli hesnlepla e m mbers lans! 22- he ana sha 49 of main be t rllectmsan tan ilier bel -dr vi rol er 11s m unte to floa in the h les 34h drive oller 1transmitsad ngio e rom the power t r yeu ma n conv yorbelt 1:5 .t9 e ellA Q t e a xiliar conveyor B, and deflects the'mainconveyor belt 15 ack tow rd it .ne r lalv pl ne after assin o er th elpport n ro l rs!! and :38,- A se ond Pa r 9 later y oppo i ho es 43,, aprov ded on in reach o th t ansfer ppa a u s de p at members 21. a .22;to suppo t hea st ait A4 of a rot tab e art el trawler oll r 4.5 he in,A 'flwWQ in Er s-v. the ho es 613 are l ngated sl gh ly in a irection-sust ntial norma o th s opi g unn r stages 2 o th s de plate 21 and 22 toenable the transfer roller to float on the driue oller 41 and, th rebyto m intain irrletiena x riyen aneaseme t wit the d i r "4 A P Jr o .ensllarly offse ho ele 47 i and a e pr vided o e i th pper d e o teach t thransfer s1de;plates .21v and 22 for receiving therein the ends f t eaxia haft A8 o he ow -term nal rel e l 9f the auailia yconveyor B.- paio em itus r aft curi g 4. 1 5. and 5,1 a e ra a m u ed i a P o pins(572, only one o wh h as shown lG E Q' a s 5:); which are secured tothetrans fer appanat ufi :Sidfiplatg: me .21 vra ia nesn et wa a ia errtt ns ehes .7-- A nu 55 is hread d onto e h of th pins {Sarto ecure thearns 51. andi in ln si to -on t e ra n Each cam has a handle 54 attachedthereto whereby the earns and 51 can be swung into engagement with theprojecting end portions of the mounting shaft 48 of the lower terminalroller 49 of the auxiliary conveyor B to lock the shaft 48 in thebottoms of the offset notches 47. A pair of handle stops are mounted onthe transfer apparatus side plates 21 and 22 to engage the handles 54and thereby to limit pivotal movement of the locking earns 50 and 51 inboth directions.

The endless auxiliary conveyor belt 42 is supported in a usual manner bya series of rollers 59 mounted transversely between auxiliary conveyorside frame members 60 which are braced by a series of transverse framemembers, only one of which '8 (Fig. 4) is shown. The upper end of theauxiliary conveyor 61 is supported by an adjustable standard 62 of ausual telescoping type. The upper end of the standard 62 spans the frameof the auxiliary conveyor B and is secured thereto by a bolt 63. A beltsupporting roller 64 is provided transversely of the upper end of thestandard 62 to prevent the auxiliary conveyor belt 42 from scraping onthe standard 62. The lower end of the standard 62 has legs 65 which spanthe frame of the main conveyor C and are secured thereto by a bolt 67.

In operation, the article transfer and auxiliary conveyor driveapparatus A is mounted across the main conveyor bed at a desired pointalong its length by passing the eye bolts 28 and 29 through registeringholes in the legs 25 and in the main conveyor side frame members 11 and12. The main conveyor belt 15 is slackened ofi, and with the two beltsupporting rollers 37 and 33 removed from their notches 32 and 33, themain conveyor belt 15 is raised up and these rollers 37 and 38 areinserted beneath it and their shafts 34 and 35 again are dropped intotheir supporting notches 32 and 33 in the transfer frame 20. Theauxiliary conveyor B then is mounted with one end thereof supported onthe standard 62 on the main conveyor bed as shown in Fig. 1, and theshaft 48 of the lower terminal roller 49 of the auxiliary conveyor B isbottomed in the notches 47 and locked in position therein by theeccentric cams 50 and 51. The adjustable standard 62, then may beadjusted to position the upper end of the auxiliary conveyor belt 42 ata desired height.

After the article transfer and auxiliary drive apparatus A and theauxiliary conveyor B thus have been installed as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and4, the main conveyor belt is again tauntened in a usual manner. the mainconveyor belt into frictional driving engagement with the drive roller41 which in turn is urged upwardly in its slots 39 so that its upperperipheral surface is forced into frictional driving engagement with theunder side of the auxiliary conveyor belt 42 as it passes around thelower terminal roller 49, in which posiiton the transfer roller 45 rideson the drive roller 41. The main conveyor belt supporting rollers 37 and38 are so positioned in their respective notches 32 and 33, and thetransfer roller 45 is so positioned in its elongated holes 43 by contactwith the drive roller 41, that an extension of the upper surface of themain belt 15 as it passes over the supporting rollers 37 and 38 issubstantially tangential to the upper peripheral surface of the transferroller 45.

After the main conveyor belt 15 has been tautened, it is driven by theusual power means (not shown). The movement of the main conveyor belt 15rotates the drive roller 41 which in turn drives the auxiliary conveyorbelt 42 and the transfer roller 45. Thus the upper run of the auxiliaryconveyor belt 42 and the upper peripheral surface of the transfer roller45 are driven in the same general linear direction as the upper run ofthe main belt 15.

Articles carried along the main belt 15 are deflected up the inclinedplane formed therein over the supporting rollers 37 and 38 and aretransferred across the substantially co-planar upper surface of thetransfer roller 45 and thence, without substantial change in direction,onto the auxiliary belt 42 for conveyance toward the desireddestination. It should be obvious that the transfer apparatus A andauxiliary conveyor B may be attached to the main conveyor in a directionopposite to that shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, and also that the mainbelt 15 may be driven in either direction.

While the transfer roller 45 floats in the elongated holes 43 in orderto avoid interference with movement This urges of the drive roller 41toward the auxiliary belt 42, adequate driving engagement with articlesbeing transferred across the roller 4: is assured since the weight ofsuch articles will force the transfer roller shaft 44 downward in theelongated holes 43 to insure adequate frictional contact between thetransfer and drive rollers 45 and 41 and the articles.

Locating the upper peripheral surface of the transfer roller 45 in aplane substantially tangential to the adjacent portion of the run of themain conveyor belt 15 permits the conveyed articles to pass smoothlyover the transfer point, and, as a consequence, the conveying systemfunctions with greater efficiency and achieves improved performance.

Although only a specific construction and adaptation of the presentinvention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood thatboth are capable of variation and modification while still employing theprinciples of the invention, and it is my intention to claim all suchvariations and modifications without departing from the scope and spiritof the present invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. An article transfer and-auxiliary belt drive apparatus forcombination with a main conveyor having a bed and a main conveyor belt,comprising a frame adapted to span said main conveyor at a desiredlocation along its length, a main conveyor belt supporting rollermounted in said frame to support a portion of the main conveyor belt, aroller mounted in said frame to engage a portion of said belt adjacentsaid supported portion thereof, a floating article transfer rollermounted transversely in said frame adjacent to said belt supporting andengaging rollers and having a peripheral surface thereof substantiallytangent to a surface of said supported portion of said main conveyorbelt, and means on said frame for securing an end of an auxiliaryconveyor adjacent to said transfer roller with said belt engaging rollerin frictional driving engagement with the article transfer roller andthe auxiliary conveyor.

2. An article transfer and auxiliary conveyor drive apparatus forcombination with a main conveyor hav ing a bed and a power drivenconveyor belt, comprising a frame adapted to be mounted on a mainconveyorat a desired location along the length of its bed, means carriedby said frame for supporting a portion of the main belt in relativelyoffset position, a floating rotatable article transfer roller mounted insaid frame adjacent to said supported portion of the main belt andhaving a peripheral surface thereof substantially tangent to a surfaceof the offset portion of said main conveyor belt, means for securing anend of an auxiliary conveyor adjacent to said transfer roller, and afloating rotatable drive roller mounted in said frame in driven relationwith the main conveyor belt for driving relation with the transferroller and the auxiliary conveyor.

3. An article transfer and auxiliary conveyor drive apparatus forcombination with a main conveyor having a conveyor belt and an auxiliaryconveyor, comprising a floating rotatable article transfer means mountedintermediate the main and auxiliary conveyors, and a floating drivemeans in driven contact with the main conveyor belt and in drivingcontact with the article transfer means and the auxiliary conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 866,337 Cowley Sept. 17, 1907 1,686,519 Cutler Oct. 9, 19281,896,402 Griffith Feb. 7, 1933 2,001,927 Van Wyk et al. May 21, 19352,020,635 Derome Nov. 12, 1935 2,325,919 Porch Aug. 3, 1943

